Lot
355

A PAIR OF ENGLISH OAK CORBELS CARVED AS ANGELS HOLDING SHIELDS

PERHAPS LATE 15TH CENTURY

A PAIR OF ENGLISH OAK CORBELS CARVED AS ANGELS HOLDING SHIELDS
PERHAPS LATE 15TH CENTURY
Each holding a shield of the arms and the crest of the Twemlow family, probable re-carving
20in. (51cm.) high (2)

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Lot Essay

Although stylistically of the late 15th Century, compare for example with various oak corbels illustrated in English Medieval Furniture and Woodwork, V & A publications, in particular catalogue Nos. 38-45, the heraldry suggests a later date, probably from the seventeenth century. The two shields portray the crest and the arms of the Twemlow family of Arclyd, Cheshire and Betley Court, Staffordshire, but the crescent would indicate a cadet branch of the family after the senior line of the Twemlow family had died-out. The pedigree of Twemlow of Arclyd from Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Helsby's revision (1882) indicates a date from the seventeenth century.
Given the ridges above the thumbs of the angels, it is possible that the armorials are carved in the seventeenth century over the original flat or painted surface or perhaps both were carved in an earlier style.

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